welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: six weeks after an airstrike in yemen left dozens dead, including many children, a new focus on finding out how it happened. we have a special report from the scene. even if the bus had been full of fighters, the risk to innocent life must surely have been clear, and there are questions about whether or not this was a war crime. all smiles as saudi's crown prince meets the us secretary of state, despite the international pressure over the disappearance of journalist jamal khashoggi. eu leaders call for concrete proposals from the uk to break the impasse over brexit ahead of a crunch summit in brussels. mobilising for the us midterm elections. can tennessee's african—american voters tip the scales for the democrats? and the new toast of the literary world. the biggest prize in publishing was awarded in just

the past few hours. the 2018 man booker prize for fiction goes to anna burns for milkman. hello. you may well remember — the pictures were hard to forget — the scene in yemen two months ago where dozens of schoolchildren and adults were killed in an airstrike. the strike was conducted by a coalition led by saudi arabia and backed by the us, the uk and france. they are supporting yemen's government against the houthi rebels backed by iran. in 3 years of fighting, at least 10,000 people have been killed and millions have fled their homes. 0ur correspondent 0rla guerin, with producer nicola careem and cameraman lee durant, sent this from dahyan in northern yemen.

they call it the dahyan children's garden, a cemetery full of schoolboys, killed side—by—side. here, the young mourn the young. the empty graves for children whose remains still cannot be identified. nearby, the wreckage of their bus, targeted in an air strike by the saudi—led coalition. there are indications it was a us—made bomb. but human rights campaigners have told us there is no way the uk can be sure its weaponry isn't being used in this conflict in attacks that kill civilians. this was the scene of the attack. it is in the houthi heartland of saada, from where rockets are fired at saudi arabia.

the coalition said the bus was a legitimate military target, carrying houthi fighters. it later apologised for what it called collateral damage. for mohammed, that meant his ten—year—old son, who was on the bus. he had to identify him by his teeth. "many of the bodies were mixed together," he told us. "some people said this is my son. others said no, this is mine. i had evidence, so i got my boy's body and put him in his grave." people gathered around, waiting patiently to be heard. until now, they haven't had a chance to tell their story to the world. they're demanding justice for their dead, but don't expect

to get it. 13—year—old mohammed ibrahim survived the attack, but many of his friends did not. "there's no beauty in life now," he said, "and no future." "it's destroyed." it is around 8:30am in the morning. this is the time the air strike took place, and this is the exact spot, in this busy area on a main street full of shops. even if the bus had been full of fighters, the risk to innocent life must surely have been clear, and there are questions about whether or not this was a war crime. this video may be evidence. it was filmed by a boy called 0sama shortly before the attack, the and his classmates shouting with joy on a rare day out.

his father, zayed, found it after the air strike which killed both 0sama and his younger brother, ali. he told me this is 0sama's testimony from the grave. "with his death, he has proven to the world that the saudis lied," he said, "when they claimed these kids were fighters. his footage shows the reality the coalition denied." at the al—najaf school, the empty chairs tell their own story. the devoted headmaster, abdul, is haunted by the absence of so many. "when i meet the parents," he says, "i tell them, ‘you have lost one at the al—najaf school, the empty chairs tell their own story. the devoted headmaster, abdul, is haunted by the absence of so many. "when i meet the parents," he says, "i tell them, ‘you have lost one

child but i have lost a22 everyone in that bus was like a son to me." down the corridor, a group of pupils who survived the attack. some wounds are visible, others are not. these are schoolboys who have already learned too much about how adults wage war. the headmaster hopes the world will remember the names of the victims. he takes the register — not of the living, but of the dead. 0rla guerin, bbc news, dahyan, yemen. president trump has defended saudi

leaders from international criticism over the disappearance of the journalist, jamal hash—ogji. —— khashoggi. mr trump called it another case of "guilty until proven innocent". the american secretary of state will meet turkish leaders on wednesday to discuss indications that mr khashoggi was murdered and dismembered inside the saudi consulate in istanbul. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james robbins reports. the arrival of an american secretary of state to see saudi king salman isn't usually so uncomfortable. donald trump sent mike pompeo to get answers about jamal khashoggi's disappearance. but the crucial encounter was with crown prince mohammad bin salman,

many hold responsible. president trump telephoned that, during their talks. he reported the crown prince totally denied any knowledge of what took place, promising a complete investigation. but could the truth still be covered up behind diplomatic immunity? the united nations insists it must not be. under international law, both a forced disappearance and an extrajudicial killing are very serious crimes, and immunity should not be used to impede investigations into what happened and who is responsible. it is now two weeks since jamal khashoggi disappeared into saudi arabia's consulate in istanbul. turkish police have finally been able to search it. their detailed evidence is yet to be published, but saudi arabia's traditional allies are threatening punishment, without wanting to destroy valuable relations. saudi arabia is a major market for arms sales from the united states and britain. 61% of all saudi weapons purchases come from the united states, and some 23% from

the united kingdom. theirjoint sales completely dwarf the figure from all other suppliers. what else makes saudi arabia a key partner? well, its position as the world's biggest oil exporter is key, sitting on almost a fifth of global reserves, and western powers stress saudi arabia is crucial as a source of intelligence and as an ally in the fight against extremist violence, particularly from so—called islamic state. both theresa may and jeremy hunt insist saudi arabia has helped keep people on the streets of britain safe. for more than a half—century, both the united states and the uk have turned to saudi arabia, because it's a lot easier to do things with saudi arabia on your side than when saudi arabia is against you. here in the heart of mayfair, saudi arabia has one of the most palatial embassies in london, consistent with its vast wealth and power, and also its importance to britain and the west. but britain is increasingly

on the defensive about that closeness. first because of saudi actions in yemen, and now because the disappearance ofjamal khashoggi means it has somehow to find a way of projecting outrage while, at the same time, protecting the fundamental relationship. there is no doubting widespread public anger against saudi arabia, and other states accused of contempt for international rules. that means governments in democracies pledged to protect those rules are under growing pressure, too. james robbins, bbc news. secretary of state mike pompeo hasluck now and has been talking, we will fill you in on what is happening later. the us military says it's carried out the biggest airstrike in nearly two years on islamist militants in somalia. the pentagon claims 60 were killed in the strike on harardere last friday — although the details have

not been independently verified. al—shabab, which is linked to al-qaeda, has not yet commented. the interim head of usa gymnastics has resigned after only 5 days in thejob. she's faced criticism because she'd worked for a law firm that represented the team's former doctor, the convicted paedophile larry nassar. gymnasts who were abused by him said her appointment sent the wrong message. german prosecutors have charged a syrian man over a hostage—taking near the main railway station in cologne on monday. they have not ruled out a terrorist motive. police say the suspect was known to them for drug offences and theft, and had mental health problems. scientists in london have grown an oesophagus which they successfully implanted into mice. researchers say the man—made organ is capable of muscle contractions, which are essential for moving food down into the stomach. they say their ultimate aim is to grow a range of replacement organs in the laboratory which can be transplanted into humans. the european union is calling for concrete proposals from the uk

to break the impasse in brexit negotiations. the british prime minister will be at talks in brussels on wednesday, trying to find a solution to the irish border issue. but the european council president, donald tusk, has warned it's still a sticking point and said he had no grounds for optimism that it was likely to be resolved at wednesday's summit. for a breakthrough to take place, besides goodwill, we need new facts. tomorrow, i'm going to ask prime minister theresa may whether she has concrete proposals on how to break the impasse. 0nly such proposals can determine if a breakthrough is possible. donald tusk. and you can keep up to date with all things brexit on our website including analysis from our correspondents, and a jargon buster, which explains in plain english what all the key brexit terms mean. that's all at bbc.com/news — or you can download the bbc

news app. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: with the midterms only weeks away, we report from tennessee, one of the tightest races. parts of san francisco least affected by the earthquake are returning to life. but in the marina area, where most of the damage was done, they're more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. in the 19 years since he was last here, he's gone from being a little—known revolutionary to an experienced and successful diplomatic operator. it was a 20lb bomb which exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel, ripping a hole in the front of the building. this government will not weaken. democracy will prevail. it fills me with humility and gratitude to know that i have been chosen as the recipient of this foremost of earthly honours. this catholic nation held its breath for the men they call the 33. and then... bells toll ..bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue,

and chile let out an almighty roar. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: six weeks after an airstrike in yemen left dozens dead, including many children, there is a new focus on finding out how it happened. the us secretary of state has met the saudi leadership to seek answers about the disappearance of journalist jamal khashoggi. netflix, which began life 20 years ago as a mail—order dvd service, has added nearly 7 million new customers in the three months to september. that figure is about 2 million more than tech industry analysts expected. the online streaming service now has more than 137 million subscribers worldwide. the bbc‘s north america technology

reporter dave lee says netflix has an extraordinary story to tell. amazing quarter for this company. before these were published earlier, netflix's stock actually dipped, because many thought they weren't going to meet the estimates that they put forward three months ago as to how they were going to perform this quarter. but instead, the opposite was true. they added just under 2 million more users, paid users, than they were expecting, bringing them to 137 million members worldwide. what's interesting about these results and the reason shareholders are so happy is that while netflix has been growing internationally, one thing that has slowed down is the number of new subscribers in the us. but even, in this quarter,

there were 1.1 million new us subscribers. that's more than double what analysts had been predicting. more good news is that they don't think this is going to end. they think, in the next quarter, netflix is going to add 9.4 million new subscribers. that's the projection and if they can hit that number, then, well, shareholders are going to be even happier than they are today. dave, they are borrowing a heck of a lot of money. i guess that is to fund more original content? yes, huge amounts of original content. $7—8 billion, we understand, is the most recent amount they're bringing in, because as it expands around the world, simply, english content won't do it in certain markets around the world.

they have been investing heavily in original series in india which has proved pretty successful so far. i think investors won't mind that netflix is spending huge amounts of money, so long as that metric of growth gets bigger, which is what they're predicting. when netflix bring out these earnings, they never tell us how each show is performing. we don't get viewing figures in the same way they do with traditional television. it's hard to know whether those new original programmes are bringing in lots of viewers and subscribers, or whether it's some of the back—catalogue shows bumping up the numbers. netflix won't tell us that. for the time being, investors are very happy. president trump has mocked the adult actress stormy daniels after her defamation lawsuit against him was dismissed. the judge cited the first amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech. in a tweet, mr trump said he could now "go after horseface and her third—rate lawyer. " in response, she tweeted that the president had shown his incompetence, hatred of women and lack of self—control on twitter. she plans to appeal the decision. with the us mid—term elections

just three weeks away, big money and big names are weighing in. tennessee is now one of the highest—profile races in the nation. donald trump won the state by 25 points in 2016, so how has the senate race in tennessee become so hotly contested? barbara plett usher went to nashville to find out more. just a warning — there is flash photography coming up. at the new hope missionary baptist church in nashville, voting is a faith issue. african—americans didn't turn out in large numbers for the presidential elections, and they don't like the result, so the black clergy has mobilised. if we stand together, if we pray together, when we vote together... pastorjames c turner ii believes that, if african—america ns

in tennessee vote as a bloc, they can tip the scales in the senate race and send a democrat to washington. a new spirit has awakened, and we're just happy to see this energy, and now we've just got to take it to the polls. it is extraordinary that the democrats think they even have a chance in this ruby—red state. the republican candidate, marsha blackburn, has a reputation as a firebrand. she has tied herself closely to donald trump. look, i'm not running against donald trump. i'm running for a senate seat to represent the people tennessee. the democratic candidate, phil bredesen, is a popularformer governor. he talks about his personal brand as a politician who gets things done, rather than his party. that pitch is aimed squarely at disaffected republicans, but an hour outside of nashville, the party is pretty important. this is lewisburg's annualfair. it is trump country. still, there is some impatience with partisan shouting matches in washington.

tennessee is an interesting test of whether a political moderate still has appeal in this hyper—polarised climate, but it is also crucial, because a democratic win here is key to helping the party take control of the senate. and that is a dealbreaker for many. i love donald trump. i think america is back on a run right now. i think we're being respected over the world. but what about phil bredesen? what do you think of him? i think he's a nice guy, but i ain't voting for him. but he is somebody might get things done, right? no, he's only going to get done what his party wants him to get done. with the extreme conservatives and extreme liberals, a moderate is a really, really nice thing to have. and — but you don't know if you're going to vote for the moderate, phil bredesen? i'm not sure right now. but you might? imight. and is that of the main reasons why? yes. in a state where music is the currency, the democratic odds have been raised by the singer taylor swift. she surprised fans by throwing her megastar power behind

tennessee's democrats in a social post to her 112 million followers. a surge of millennials registered to vote, but that doesn't seem to have changed many minds in downtown nashville. it's all country folks and rednecks in tennessee! like, country and rednecks vote republican, maga! so she's not going to change your vote? no. this is a picture of me right there at a donald trump convention in myrtle beach. and i still love taylor swift, because she has great music and she's a great person. but i don't think she should try to tell you who you should vote for. the republican marsha blackburn has pulled ahead in the polls, but so much will depend on who actually shows up to vote. barbara plett usher, bbc news, tennessee. the man booker prize has been won by anna burns for her novel milkman. it is a coming—of—age story set amid the civil conflict in northern ireland.

the prestigious literary prize is awarded each year for the best original novel written in the english language and published in the uk. lebo diseko reports. the 2018 man booker prize for fiction goes to anna burns for milkman. it is one of the most important and famous book prizes in the world, anna burns looking overjoyed and a little overwhelmed, making history as the first northern irish writer to win. she drew on her own experience of northern ireland during the period known as the troubles, writing a coming—of—age story seen through the eyes of an 18—year—old girl who is being pursued by a member of a paramilitary organisation. and, while the judges said her book was simply marvellous, the writer herself seemed quite taken aback to have won. i'd like to acknowledge all the great writers who were on the shortlist and longlist with me.

thank you. i'd love to say to all my dear friends, thank you for all your support. and i'd like to say to carl cornish, who published my first story ever, i know you're out there somewhere, carl, and thank you. oh, my goodness. i think i'd better stop, thank you. thanks. the milkman was one of six books on the shortlist. it was described by judges as experimental. there are no names given to the characters, and it was set in a dystopian future, but drew on belfast‘s history of conflict. it beat competition from everything under by daisyjohnson who, at 27, was the youngest nominee in man booker history. among the guests at the star—studded event at london's guildhall were the duchess of cornwall, who presented the trophy. ms burns will now receive £50,000 — that is around $65,000 in prize money.

but the boost to her career is perhaps even more valuable. she joins an illustrious list of people who've won the prize before, including salman rushdie and hilary mantel. lebo diseko, bbc news. another winnerfor you — this year's world wildlife photographer of the year has been revealed at a gala in london. dutchman marsel van 0osten's photograph of two snub—nosed monkeys resting on a stone in china's qinling mountains is the overall winner. he followed a troupe of them for days to understand their behaviour, and caught these two gazing into the distance. 0ther shots that won their individual categories include underwater, amphibians and reptiles, and an award for photojournalism. it is one of the most prestigious competitions in the world and has been running for more than a0 years. finally, harry and megan continue their royal tour of australia. the duke and duchess of sussex arrived in new south wales and delighted a long line of schoolchildren at the airport in dubbo, shaking hands and posing for selfies. but it was luke vincent, who has down syndrome and adores santa claus, who stole the show, throwing his arms around meghan when she knelt down to greet him. luke also made a beeline for harry's

beard when the prince hugged him. the couple also met staff from from the royal flying doctor service, before heading to victoria park when the heavens opened. the duchess of sussex held an umbrella for the duke as he delivered his official address to the town. sheltering as best they could from the torrential downpour. hello there. we saw a top temperature of 21 celsius across the south—east of england yesterday. today is looking a little bit cooler, and that's because we've lost that warm southerly wind off the near continent. we'll also have a few showers, as well. it's not going to be completely dry today. that's because we've got these weather fronts moving very slowly south—eastwards. now, this one is going to bring a band of cloud to portions of england and wales first thing this morning. some spots of rain, in fact, on its southern edge in towards the west country there. and it'll very slowly move south—eastwards as we reach the very

early hours of this morning. temperatures holding into double figures, though, where we have the cloud. but ahead of it, under clearer skies, it's going to be a pretty chilly start to the day. but we'll have plenty of sunshine across the north and the west. this band of cloud, this weather front, very slowly moving south—eastwards, bringing quite a grey day, i think, to much of east anglia and the south—east, although there could be some sunshine ahead of there towards kent. temperature—wise — 16, 17, maybe 18 celsius. cooler than yesterday, but temperatures across scotland and northern ireland will be pretty similar to how they were yesterday. now, on into thursday, and we start to see this ridge of high pressure toppling in off the atlantic. it's also going to bring some cooler air to most areas, particular central and northern parts, so could be quite a chilly start to thursday. temperatures down to freezing in some rural places. but not quite as cold further south — that's because we'll have a bit more cloud around. but thursday, apart from a bit of cloud across the south, any mist and fog patches will clear through the morning,

and some cloud and some breeze in the far north—west of scotland. it looks like a good—looking day, thanks to that area of high pressure, with some good spells of sunshine around. temperatures reaching 12—16 degrees, that is closer to the seasonal norm. as we head on in towards friday, looks like high pressure continues to dominate the scene for england and wales. this could bring some wet and windy conditions to the northern half of the country. so friday — a stronger breeze, more cloud northern ireland and then into western scotland, with outbreaks of rain. showery bursts of rain pushing across scotland through the course of the day, but most of england and wales should have a fine one, with lighter winds, good sunny spells around, and maybe a degree or so warmer across the south than what we saw on thursday. a quick peek into the weekend. it does look like it's a north—south divide. high pressure holds onto the conditions across england and wales, whereas we'll have lower pressure further north. so for saturday, which will be pretty similar to sunday, it looks like it's going to be a fine and a dry day. early mist and fog, clearing away, lots of sunshine around. scotland, northern ireland

and the far north of england will be breezy and cloudy, with outbreaks of rain. temperatures range from 15 to 17 or 18 degrees across the south. this is bbc news, the headlines: six weeks after an airstrike in yemen that killed dozens of schoolchildren and adults — human rights campaigners have stepped up demands for a full explanation. the saudi—led coalition, which is backing yemen's government in its war with the rebel houthi movement, has promised to punish those responsible. president trump has sought to defend saudi arabia from what he said was a campaign to condemn it over the disappearance of a saudi journalist, jamal khashoggi, before all the facts were known. he said that it was a case of saudi leaders being found guilty until proven innocent. the eu is calling for concrete proposals from the uk to break the impasse in brexit negotiations. british prime minister theresa may will be at talks in brussels, trying to find a solution to the irish border issue.

european council president, donald tusk has warned it's still a sticking point. now on bbc news — hardtalk.